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And then, even though we had a million things we needed to do, we both collapsed in giggles.
The giggles came to an abrupt halt when Gabe’s phone buzzed a little while later. “Oh boy. My mother says she can’t wait any longer—they’ll be here in a few minutes.”
I yelped and headed directly to the shower.
After the fastest shower in human history, I threw on some Hannah-approved clothes. I did my makeup in three minutes—I didn’t need much; I had a post-sex-with-Gabe glow.
Gabe kept talking as he showered. “She’s so excited, she’s mortifying. Be prepared for lots of hugging and excitement.”
“About the wedding?”
“No—she’s excited about me and you. Mostly just you. She’s a little…exuberant, is all. You’ll see.”
A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and Gabe briefly put his face in his hands. “Get ready for the firing squad.”
“Gabriel!” Cynthia Betts whooped as soon as she came through the door, followed by Levi, Ash, and Alexander Viejo.
Cynthia was petite, with an elegant blonde chignon. Still, she locked her much larger son in a bear hug, rocking him back and forth. “My baby.”
I could see his back stiffen. “Mother, I’m not a baby.”
She pulled back and swatted him. “You’ll always be my baby.”
Then, as if she had a homing device, she turned toward me. “You must be Lauren.” She swept me into her arms, and now it was my turn to be rocked back and forth.
“Mom, you’re probably cutting off her circulation.” Gabe sounded mortified.
She ignored him, pulling back to inspect me. “Well, I can see why Gabe’s wild about you—you’re stunning. And a natural blonde. I didn’t even know God made those anymore. You look like an angel.”
Gabe groaned while I smiled at his mother. “Thank you. I’m honored to meet you—you raised a wonderful man.”
Cynthia’s eyes filled with tears, and she started fanning her face, trying to protect her makeup. “Thank you. I’m just so glad you can appreciate him. He can be so difficult, and he’s controlling, I was starting to wonder if he’d ever—”
“Mom!”
“Oh honey, sorry.” But she didn’t look sorry. She clapped her hands, and her face broke into another wide smile, revealing her perfect teeth. “This is the best day ever. All my boys are here, I finally get to meet Lauren, and I’m getting married tomorrow!”
Gabe and Alexander were catching up, so Cynthia took the opportunity to pull me over to the couch. “You know, dear, none of my boys have ever been in a serious relationship that lasted. Levi was engaged once, but we don’t speak about that, not ever. Tara. If I even say her name, he goes ballistic.” Her eyes were wide. “But I’m excited, and I’m babbling. I’m so happy to hear that you got your sister back—but I’m sorry for all the trouble you’ve been through.”
“Thank you. She’s home now, and she’s safe. We’re still waiting to see how her boyfriend’s doing, but I’m trying to stay positive.”
She nodded, and I could tell that she was listening to me intently, filing away each detail. She kept smiling, reaching out, and holding my hands. She asked me more about how I’d met Gabe, then questions about Hannah, my company, and my parents. Five minutes into the conversation, we were both sniffling into our respective Kleenexes. There was just something about the Betts family… The last thing I ever wanted to do was talk about my personal life or the loss of my parents, but they had this way of extracting things from me.
“I’m so sorry about your mom and dad.” She blew her nose with one hand and patted my knee with the other. “Gabe was just in third grade when Lou died. It broke my heart to watch him cry like that.”
I don’t know if Gabe heard his name or finally noticed both of us were crying, but he extricated himself from the men and came over. “What’s wrong?”
Cynthia blew her nose again. “Nothing, dear. Lauren and I were just talking about her parents, and I was just telling her about Lou. It’s terrible to lose the people you love.”
She reached over and held my hand. “But we’re family now. You won’t ever be alone again.”
“You just might wish you were,” Gabe said under his breath.
His mother swatted him again. “That’s enough out of you. Now, tell Alexander to come over. He’s been looking forward to seeing Lauren again.”
He must’ve heard us, because he ambled over immediately. Just as I remembered from my time at MIT, Alexander was a dapper dresser, wearing an impeccable shirt and tie.
I shook his hand. “So nice to see you, Professor.”
